In the interest of stemming the growing rate of burglaries and unlawful entries into homes and other buildings, much attention has been given recently to the provision of better locks for doors.
It is widely recognized that the simpler mechanical locks often constitute only a minor obstacle to a professional burglar or even to a clever novice. In some cases a door may be unlocked by simply forcing the latch open with a plastic playing card, while even the most intricate and expensive mechanical lock is no match for a skilled professional burglar.
The availability of low cost electronic devices such as photo-electric sensors and microcircuit logic of the type employed in digital computers opens up new opportunities for the development of fool-proof electric locks. Because of the high volume utilization of components of this type, and because of the high degree of complexity and flexibility incorporated in the microcircuit logic packages, it is possible to produce a very sophisticated but relatively inexpensive electric lock using these components.
The opportunity for utilizing such components in the design of an electric lock is just beginning to be recognized and numerous innovations in this field will surely arise in the immediate future.